17 High Paying Freelance Writing Niches

writing niches

This is the most complete article you will find on the freelance writing niche

the best part is that this article has plenty of resources so

so without further ado let’s dive right in…

Have you been struggling to try to figure out the best freelance writing niche for you?

You want a freelance writing niche that pays well and you can write with ease, and that can help you land freelance

writing jobs easily. What type of writing niche is that?

That’s the biggest question of all, but for now, let’s focus on the most profitable freelance writing for 2020.

These are niches that are popular and in need of businesses and brands online.

But, what about being a generalist freelance writer? This means not having a freelance writing niche and writing

in a variety of niches. For a lot of new freelance writers, this is common.

You try to land any freelance writing job in any freelance writing niche, and before you know it, you get paid to write a post

about hair loss in teens, Pinterest marketing tips, and an introduction.

This is fine and expected, but over time as you pick up more and more clients, you want to hone your niche and find the

most profitable writing niche for you.

The list items in this post are the top freelance writing niches that are high-paying.

I suggest, however, not randomly picking a freelance writing niche from this list based on yearly salary and income potential.

The niche you choose should be one that you are somewhat familiar with or have an idea of the industry behind the niche topic.

To help you out, I’ll dive into what a freelance writing niche is, how I found my freelance writing niche in the digital

the marketing industry, and the most high-paying freelance writing niches with a yearly salary, topics, and blog post ideas.

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Elna Cain
Founder, ElnaCain.com
Yes You Can Get Paid to Write

Join 20,000+ writers who’ve taken my insanely valuable FREE 6-day course. Learn freelance writing from scratch & make money from your writing!

What is a Freelance Writing Niche?

A freelance writing niche is a specialization in writing. Your writing niche is a focused area in writing like writing press releases or blog posts where you are experienced in and knowledgeable of writing.

You can have a broad freelance writing niche like finance and niche down to specific topics within finance like cryptocurrency or investments.

By finding a freelance writing niche, you are investing in yourself to become an expert in your niche.

This is what happened to me. This means you don’t need to be experienced when you decide on a freelance writing niche.

You will, over time, gain that experience.

And something happens once you become the expert in your writing niche – brands start seeking you out and they are

willing to pay you more for that expert knowledge.

When I started as a freelance writer, I picked up any gig that came my way, and many of my gigs were in different niches.

But, over time, I learned which freelance writing niche I enjoyed writing about the most, and that led to more freelance writing jobs.

Eventually, after years of writing in my freelance writing niche, I can call myself an expert in the subject matter.

How Did I Find My Freelance Writing Niche?

My freelance writing niche is digital marketing. I write about content marketing like blogging tips, social media marketing tips like Pinterest marketing, and email marketing tips.

But, when I started, I had no idea about marketing or digital marketing.

Before I was a freelance writer, I used the Internet for YouTube and Facebook! I never started a business before and was

happily working in the school system.

Then I became pregnant with twins and the thought of leaving them didn’t work for me.

Plus, the costs of daycare would eat up any paycheck I earned from working outside the home.

I needed to find a way to stay home, and that’s when I found out about freelance writing.

Here’s my YouTube video on how I found my niche when I had no experience in that niche topic.

My video goes into more detail than I will in this post, but in the beginning, I ended up choosing three niches: health,

natural parenting, and personal development (psychology).

After I chose my three niche topics, I created writing samples, and in doing that, I was also looking for ways to market

my freelance writing business. This led to a guest post on what I was learning – social media marketing.

I was also signing up for social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn, and through this process, I guest-posted more on

digital marketing topics. This was my way of gaining experience in a new niche – digital marketing writing.

From there, a brand reached out to me to do some editing and writing about social media marketing. And that is where it began for me.

Over time I either guest posted or picked up clients in the digital marketing niche and gained experience.

I also started an email list and created products as another avenue for gaining experience.

This process took time, and I want to let you know that the writing niche you pick doesn’t have to be one that you are entirely familiar with.

It can be a niche that you want to learn more about.

Top Freelance Writing Niches + Salaries

Now that you are familiar with what a writing niche is let’s get into the top writing niches for 2020. These topics are either always in

demand or emerging. As a freelance writers, we want to ensure that the writing niche we choose will have the biggest return on our

investment (ROI).

Keep in mind you should pick a niche that’s in need of content that you’re interested in writing about, and most importantly if the

business has the budget for content marketing. To help you out, you can also check out my YouTube video.

1. Finance

Consumers spend millions each year using credit cards, loans, and other banking products.

This means that banks, credit card companies, and more have a lot of money to pour into content creation.

Currently, there is an excessive need for finance writers, and what’s great is that the companies have the budget for experts in this writing niche.

Most of the larger finance companies are looking for unique angles and engaging stories.

There are no fluff articles for this writing niche – only high-quality and valuable content.

You can see on the Contena Job Board that well-known and established brands are asking for specific finance topics for their site – with an

average yearly salary of $52,000/year.

finance contena

Topics in need in the finance writing niche include:

  • Personal Finance
  • Accounting
  • Financial stocks
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Budgeting/frugality

If you’re new to the finance niche, find topics you feel comfortable writing about. The personal finance niche incorporates a lot of ideas

that are well-known to people like budgeting, using credit cards or deals, and couponing.

You can draw from personal experience to write topics in that personal finance niche.

Here are some examples you can write for your writing samples.

  • 10 Best Budgeting Apps to Help Plan Your Month
  • How to Spot the Best Deals When Buying a Car
  • The 3 Credit Cards College Students Must Get

2. Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is its own section because a lot of finance writers don’t know how to write about mining and cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency is hot right now, but it’s not a trend that will be going away soon. According to Entrepreneur, blockchain is one of

the fastest and top-growing skills to acquire for millennials.

If you’re passionate about this niche, you can easily find freelance writing jobs.

Looking at the Contena Job Board, the average monthly salary starts at around $1,000 a month.

crypto contena

Topics in need in the cryptocurrency writing niche include:

  • Blockchain
  • Cryptopreneurs
  • Bitcoin mining
  • Crypto credit

If this is a new writing niche for you, here are some topics you can use for your writing samples.

  • Why Libra is Different Than Bitcoin
  • 4 Best Methods to Predict the Future of Bitcoin
  • How to Tell a Cryptocurrency Scam Before You Fall for It

Since this is a section within finance, this is a core niche that will take time to understand and learn.

So for more new freelance writers in this niche, you’re going to spend more time reading and learning about this writing niche

before you feel confident in writing a writing sample.

3. Travel

Travel markets are targeting millennials who want to devote their finances to once-in-a-lifetime experiences, as well as young

retirees who wish to complete their bucket list before it’s too late.

You have to be a skilled storyteller with the ability to find travel stories that most have never heard of.

Using the Content Job Board, you can see that travel writing is profitable, with the average salary being $52,000/year.

travel contena

Topics in travel writing include:

  • Travel guides
  • Restaurant reviews
  • Hotel reviews
  • Travel deals
  • Travel Lifestyle

As you can see, there are a lot of topics you can draw from as well as personal experiences you can lend to travel writing.

To help you find some topics for your travel writing samples, check these out.

  • Ultimate Travel Guide to Sweden
  • Enjoy the Mouth Watering Experience of (Restaurant)
  • The Yucatan Peninsula – What You Need to Know

The travel niche does need writers that have had experience in what they are writing about, so even if you want to be a travel writer,

you must have some great and interesting experiences traveling to different destinations.

4. Digital Marketing

Every year more and more businesses and entrepreneurs flood the web to conduct the majority of their business online.

This means they’re relying on digital marketing companies, such as email newsletter companies, opt-in services, online accounting

software, online hosting, and more to boost sales.

Most of these companies want long-form content, which is in-depth guides or tutorial-based content. They are also up-to-date with

market trends.

This is the niche I write in, and I enjoy the variety of topics you can write about in digital marketing.

The Content Job Board has over 70 digital marketing writing jobs for you! The average salary for a gig in this niche is $58,000/year.

digital marketing contena

Topics you can write about in the digital marketing writing niche include:

  • Affiliate marketing advice
  • Email marketing
  • Social media – Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, etc…
  • Push notifications
  • Search engine optimization
  • eCommerce

For your writing samples, the best samples are ones that show the expert knowledge you have about aspects of digital marketing. Most

content in this writing niche is long-form.

Here are some writing samples you can use:

  • 50 Unique Ways to Repurpose Content
  • 17 Optimized Content Upgrades to Grow Your Email List
  • How to Use SEO On a Landing Page for More Conversions
  • Easy Ways to Find Out Who Opened Up Your Emails for More Business

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Elna Cain
Founder, ElnaCain.com
Yes You Can Get Paid to Write

Join 20,000+ writers who’ve taken my insanely valuable FREE 6-day course. Learn freelance writing from scratch & make money from your writing!

5. Education

For education writing, you have two huge markets you can target – private student loan lenders and universities.

Both are sitting on huge piles of cash and need content writing to stand out and attract new leads.

And if you are a teacher, you would make for a great freelance writer!

You can use your experience as a teacher, student, coach, homeschool mom, or tutor to write in this writing niche.

On the Content Job Board, there are many education writing jobs available. The average salary is $47,000/year and can make for some

sweet side income.

education contena 1

Topics that are in need of the educational writing niche include:

  • College life
  • Education manuals/curriculums
  • News topics
  • Daycare and Pre-k

To help you build your portfolio, here are some writing samples:

  •  8 Ways You Can Miss a Student Loan Payment
  • 10 Best Banks to Consolidate Student Loans
  • Best Preschool Fall Curriculum For a Hands-On Experience
  • What the Experts Say About Separation Anxiety in Preschool Kids

6. Alternative Health

More outlets are needing writers who are well-versed in the cannabis market to talk about it because the industry is a huge moneymaker.

The alternative health market is profitable for many other industries as well, such as

  • Yoga
  • Chiropractic care
  • Essential oils
  • DIY therapies

Because of the huge alternative health market, there is a great need for these types of writers.

I recently received an email from a health and wellness company specializing in the CBD oil industry, seeking a health writer.

cannabis writer

The Contena Job Board shows a lot of alternative health gigs from big brands and high-paying businesses. The average salary is $52,000/year.

health contena

Some health topics that brands and businesses are seeking currently are:

  • Organic Living/Non-GMO
  • Specialty diets – Keto, Intermittent, Paleo, etc
  • Supplements
  • CBD oils
  • Bodybuilding
  • Addiction Recovery
  • Running
  • Senior living

If you are interested in writing in this writing niche, here are some blog post ideas for your portfolio.

  • 5 Ways Meditation Can Help With Weight Loss
  • 10 Proven Methods to Lose Weight After 40 Years Old
  • 47 Easy Ways to Help Your Child With Anxiety

7. Book Writing (Ghostwriting)

Many business people, coaches, and solopreneurs often want to publish books about their lives or industry topic.

Many of them aren’t writers and look to hiring a ghostwriter to write that book for them. Others hire freelance writers to

proofread or edit their books.

You can easily break into ghostwriting by offering freelance writing services or book editing services.

On the Contena Job Board, they don’t usually specify ghostwriting or book writing projects, but these types of gigs are usually

referrals from established clients in your niche. Ghostwriting rates vary, but profitable writers earn around $3k/per month or more.

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As a ghostwriter you might be responsible for:

  • Newsletters
  • Social media posts
  • Blog posts
  • eBook writing
  • Editing
  • Proofreading

Topics range on what book writers write on since influencers, brands and small businesses seek ghostwriters for their books.

writing niches

8. Video Script Writing

More and more online businesses are seeing the potential of video marketing.

Video is dominating the marketing channels, and you can be ahead of this curve by offering video scriptwriting to businesses.

Social media profiles like Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram, are all incorporating video to follow this trend – and businesses are noticing.

Looking at the Contena Job Board, you can see that video scriptwriting is hugely profitable, with rates between $.30-.70/word.

video script writer contena

Types of projects you might do as a video scriptwriter include:

  • Course lessons
  • Promotional campaign videos
  • Tripwire video copy
  • Sales page video copy

Similar to ghostwriting projects, video script writing can incorporate writing in a variety of niche topics, depending on

the clients you pick up.

9. White Paper Writing

Email marketing is still one of the only marketing channels with a return of investment of 38:1.

More and more people prefer marketing emails as a way to score deals, learn more about products, and stand behind trusted brands.

One way to capitalize on this is to offer white paper writing for lead magnets.

A lead magnet is a free offer to incentivize your email list. For example, I offer a free course to help new writers learn how to become a freelance writer.

Others may offer a free eBook or cheatsheet.

Businesses can use white papers to grow their email lists and attract potential leads.

White papers are also considered one of the top-paying niches around.

According to the Contena Job Board, rates for white paper writing are high – $6,000/month or more.

white paper contena

Topics for white papers vary, as do video script and ghostwriting topics.

White papers are usually written for the B2B market. This is business-to-business and is the niche I write in to make a living as a writer.

10. Food & Wine

Yes! Your love of food and wine can earn you money in the writing world! It’s not always the easiest market to break into, though.

There are many different avenues you can take in the niche of food, from recipe developer to copywriting for a wine website to ghostwriting a cookbook.

My suggestion is to seek out magazine projects to build up a credible portfolio. For example, freelance writer friend Carrie Madormo writes for top magazines and provides food and parenting content.

carrie madormo

On the Contena Job Board, they have a Lifestyle section with a variety of B2C (business-to-consumer) gigs like beauty and food.

The average salary as a food writer is $52,000/year.

food contena

Topics you might write about as a food & wine (coffee) writer might be:

  • Cooking techniques
  • Product reviews
  • Recipe developer
  • Food events
  • Industry news
  • Wine/beer copywriting

If food and wine is something you’re interested in writing about, here are some blog topic samples for you:

  • 24 Advent Treats You Can Make With Your Child
  • How to Make a Simple Banana Oat Baby Cookie
  • 10 Fall Coffee Hacks You Can Try Today

11. Email  Writing

Email marketing is here to stay, and it’s the most effective way to nurture leads and convert them into customers or clients.

Businesses rely heavily on creating effective email funnels to walk potential leads down the buyer’s journey.

As an email writer, you come up with copy for funnels, launch campaigns, and more.

This type of writing relies on copywriting and knowing different copywriting formulas.

On the Contena Job Board, there may not be specific email writing gigs. There will be, however, copywriting gigs or writers needed

for a business’ content marketing strategy. The average salary for this niche industry is $58,000/year.

email writing contena

Type of projects you may do as an email writer might be:

  • Newsletters
  • Email sales funnel
  • Landing page copy
  • Marketing material
  • Email campaigns

As a writing sample, you can provide a mock email or newsletter to show effective email subject lines and copywriting tactics.

6 More Profitable Freelance Writing Niches for 2020

If you noticed, I’ve been pooling data from Contena to show you the best writing niches to make money. Contena is a job board that also

has alerts and has a huge catalog of writing leads.

If you’re interested in signing up for Contenause my special 10% discount code elna10. You get 10% off any option or 10% off each payment if you choose the payment route. AND if you pay in full you receive a 20% discount PLUS your coupon will stack on top of that!

Contena shows more profitable niches for you. So here are six more niches to try out.

  1. Entertainment writing – The average salary is $47,000/year. Topics include concert reviews, celebrity gossip, TV episode recaps and more.
  2. Sports Writing – The average salary is $51,000/year. Topics include college sports, game-day reporter, sports equipment reviews, major league sports and more.
  3. Beauty and Fashion writing – The average salary is $52,000/year. Topics include beauty product research, makeup tutorials, skincare products, trend alerts and more.
  4. Tech writing – The average salary is $64,000/year. Topics include B2B technology, blockchain, 3D printing, cyber security, tech news, software manuals and more.
  5. Real estate writing – The average salary is $59,000/year. Topics include home decor, buying guides, real estate law and more.
  6. Parenting – The average salary is $52,000/year. Topics include family life, home schooling, pregnancy, product reviews and more.

Your Writing Niche Revealed

There ya go – an in-depth look at the best freelance writing niches to get started with.

While some of these top writing niches need some experience, you can gain that by guest posting and starting a blog.

Over time, you will pick up industry jargon and learn the most up-to-date news to help you become an expert in your

freelance writing niche. Now it’s your turn – what is your niche? Share in the comments!

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One thought on “17 High Paying Freelance Writing Niches

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